How To Succeed on LinkedIn, According to Kathy Hepinstall Parks

Satire is salve for the witty.

Novelist, Creative Director and Freelance Copywriter, Kathy Hepinstall Parks, is witty.

This is how she rolls on LinkedIn:

Her second point makes me laugh: “Talk about brand identity, brand engagement, brand evangelism, and what Brandeis taught you about branding with brandy.”

Clearly, LinkedIn is laughable at times; yet, millions of professionals, a.k.a. thought workers, rely on it. Chances are good you’ll head over there in a few clicks to seek a job or just to scroll, even though social media etiquette is missing on LinkedIn, as it is across the Web.

One big point of difference in LinkedIn’s favor is the idea that your professional reputation is on the line when using LinkedIn. People don’t come to Facebook and Twitter with that thought in mind, and it shows.

The dark side of this “reputation on the line” feature is it leads people to invest too heavily in thought leadership, which can be fine in moderation, but next to intolerable in high doses.

It seems to me that the thoughtful user of the LinkedIn platform recognizes how his or her own posts fit into the larger context. What’s helpful to some is more noise to others, and all of it impacts your personal brand.